


Class Dismissed

by Scarecrowqueen



Series: Moments That Would Have Changed Everything [3]
Category: Jumper (2008)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Swearing, Uneasy Allies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-27 16:17:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19016413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scarecrowqueen/pseuds/Scarecrowqueen
Summary: What if Griffin hadn't abandoned David and Millie to the law in Rome?





	Class Dismissed

**Author's Note:**

> Hey folks, currently uploading a bunch of old writing from my Dreamwidth to the Archive here. This is old as shit so don’t judge the quality of my writing too hard please mmkay?

Unbalanced in shock and surprise, David tumbled through several stacks of disks on his way to the floor. Pushing himself up, his eyes rose to the face of the strange man he'd just met moments before in Rome. The awkward moment caused by his accidental fall into what seemed to pass as some sort of war room demanded an explanation.

"I just came through your jump scar." And now he was a giant dork on top of trespassing loser, great. David gave himself a scathingly sarcastic mental pat on the back.

"What do you think you're doing here? Huh? If I were you, I'd jump back. You're not supposed to see all this stuff. Get out! So if you'd like to kindly fuck off, as in now. Maybe your girlfriend's still alive." The other Jumper's agitation was both understandable and still somehow out of proportion, David figured, considering he'd been to one to introduce himself in the first place, all question methods of introduction aside of course. It was about that moment, that the last bit sank in, and with a soft utterance of her name, David jumped away to find her. He had to get Millie out of the coliseum before those Paladins, or the Roman police found her there.

Of course, things couldn't possible go that smoothly. Thankfully that British Jumper had apparently taken care of the Paladin threat for the time being, but the coliseum security guards, backed by the police, were already flooding the walkways cutting off most of the escape routes. David cursed, and continued pulling Millie along behind him, trying to stay out of sight among the rubble for long enough to get the hell out of dodge. Millie for her part wasn't making things any easier, resisting his attempts to lead her, and spluttering out a constant stream of objections and questions. It was moments like this; David thought grimly, that he wished she was a little more passive. Or at least a little more trusting. Not that she really had any reason to, he'd hardly been honest with her, after all, a fact that was very soon going to bite them in the ass, as the only way to get out of this mess as far as David could see, was to jump both himself and Millie to the other side of the planet. At that moment, David caught a glimpse of their pursuers coming straight at them from no less than every side. Near panicked and with only seconds to spare, David turned to Millie, pleas for her trust already on his lips.

"David-" she said, eyes wide, the police hollered something in Italian, there was a burst of displaced air beside them, and then a hand was on his shoulder and the world was spinning.

David crashed down hard onto a familiar sandy floor. With a grunt of pain for his abused ribcage, he slowly pushed himself to his feet, hearing fragile plastic crack beneath him, which he summarily ignored in favour of standing and lending aid to Millie. The girl was sitting back to the wall a few feet away, looking completely shell shocked and disoriented. David didn't blame her, long-distance jumps had left him feeling vaguely nauseous too until he'd acclimated to the sensation of suddenly changing of environments. Human's really didn't realize how much general humidity, barometric pressure, and even distance from sea level affected your perception until you discovered the ability to rapidly alter all three and more in an eye-blink. Millie didn't seem to be appreciative of his concern though, if the slaps to his face and shoulder meant anything. Shoving him away with her slowly returning strength, she slid up the wall to her feet, leaning heavily on the sandstone for support, or maybe in terror, with the way she was staring back and forth between David and the Jumper that had just abducted them. Or rescued, David supposed, if he was inclined to feel grateful. David took another step toward Millie, hand reaching out to her, only to freeze when she flinched and shrank back a little further into the wall. Despite that, she was barely looking at him, focusing almost solely on the stranger who was now crouched next to the stack of CD's that David had knocked down and his first trip here minute before, and also the apparent location of his second landing, as David's recollection of cracking plastic seeming to match up with the handful of crushed cases the man was sorting out and setting aside, restacking the whole one's in unorganized towers. As if he could feel the weight of their twin gazes, he looked up at them from the floor, a bored look on his face and tone in his voice.

"Oh, you two still here? Figured you'd be halfway to Uganda by now. Nice weather there, this time of year. I'd check it out. Right away. As in, get out of my lair now, fuck-you very much." While rude, there didn't seem to be much real heat behind the words, which invited David to inquisition his host. Unfortunately, it also invited Millie to demand answers from both as well, her confusion cutting into David's words.

"Why did you do that? You show up…"

"What just happened, David? Where…"

"…out of the blue, get into this battle royale…"

"…the police? David what haven't you told…"

"…and save both our asses, and for what?"

"ENOUGH!" The word was practically a roar, as the smaller man finished with the disks and stood, real anger present now. David wisely closed his mouth with a click mid-sentence, but Millie soldiered on, demanding answers from both males in a continuously rising tone. The other Jumper tilted his head at David and for a brief second their eyes met. The other man raised his eyebrow the slightest degree, somehow managing to convey to David his currently good-natured exasperation, as well as a subtle accusation for being the reason she was present at all. For the smallest of instants David felt a bond on camaraderie with the other Jumper, offering the barest of shrugs in apology. Of course, Millie noticed the gesture, and the look she directed David's way would've peeled paint, had the Brit been concerned enough to have decorated in the first place. The look put David on the defensive; however Millie didn't get a chance to say a word before the other jumper interrupted.

"Quiet sweetheart, grownups need to talk now." David didn't even think before his defensive ire was re-directed at the other man.

"Hey, don't talk to her like that!" The Brit snorted.

"Easy there caveman, you want your questions answered? You should try being polite before I kick your ass across the space-time continuum." David gritted his teeth but obeyed; no doubt in his mind that despite the size difference between them, the smaller man was better trained, more experienced and probably ruthless enough to do so. Millie also picked up on the hint, glowering at the man but staying silent.

"Right, now that we're all being civilized, I'm Griffin." The man gestured to him chest with both hands, "and this," a wide gesture to encompass the entirety of the room "is my lair. With me so far?" Biting his tongue and trying to let the patronizing tone roll off his back, David gave a terse nod. Millie didn't look like she was doing much better, although she wasn't shrinking into the wall anymore, fear replaced with righteous fury. Griffin, as he was now known, obviously noticed the tension and seemed to delight in it, allowing increasing amounts of sarcasm to creep into his tone, face and figure growing a little more animated as his speech continued.

"As for what you're boytoy isn't telling you, we" a rapid back-and-forth motion of the hand in the air between the two men "are Jumpers, genetic anomalies capable of teleporting anywhere on Earth. And Casanova here" a hand flicked toward David, "brought the Paladins right down on both your heads, probably with his here-a-jump, there-a-jump, everywhere-a-jump-jump attitude. Didn't have a clue, did you?" David opened his mouth to protest, to defend himself, to say anything in response but Griffin steamrolled both him and Millie, continuing right along.

"You're both hooped now. They know what you look like, doubtless they know where you live, and anything else that might be relevant. You can't go home, they'll find you. Even you, Missy, or Minnie, or whoever you are, they'll kill you to get to him. Just cause they can, y'know, cause we're abominations, yeah? Cause 'only God should have to ability to be all places at all times' or some such rubbish. They're madmen you ask me." Millie was looking at David now, with slowly dawning horror, and the cold ball in the pit of David's stomach spread.

"Millie, I didn't mean, I didn't know…" David stepped closer, reaching for her arm, but she hissed and drew back, shaking her head. "Millie, please…" But the woman didn't listen, instead she spun and half-ran, half-stumbled down the hall to where a glint of sunlight could be seen. David moved to follow, but Griffin grabbed his arm and held him back.

"She won't go far; we're in the middle of the Sahara." David gave a halfhearted tug against the hold that restrained him, but acquiesced to Griffin's will, the other man letting go as soon as he was confident David wouldn't bolt. Abandoning David to his thoughts, Griffin wandered over to the corner where he'd left the unconscious Paladin. At least, David thought as he tracked Griffin's progress in the corner of his eye, he hoped the man was only unconscious and not outright dead. The younger man shrugged off his leather jacket, tossing it over the back of the couch and pushed some magazines off the cushions, making himself comfy and switching on a videogame console. While waiting for the game to load, Griffin glanced at David, still standing looking a little lost and confused, and sighed, picking up a couple of empty pop cans off the other side of the couch and tossed them in the general direction of the Paladin on the ground. David watched one hit the ground and roll, and the other bounce off the man's chest before rolling to join the first. Under such close scrutiny, it was obvious that the man didn't appear to be breathing, and David just knew that if he put his hand to the pale, waxy skin of the man's neck, he'd find no pulse.

"Griffin, that guy…"

"I'll take care of him later." Griffin had obviously noticed too, but didn't seem overly concerned, in fact he didn't even look away from his game, thumbs flying over the controller faster than anything David had ever seen. David distractedly watched Griffin tap out combos for a few minutes, listening with half an ear as Griffin murmured about special moves, showing him the button sequences that matched. It wasn't until the action on screen suddenly froze, that David came back to full awareness. He turned to face Griffin, but the Jumper was staring straight ahead at the paused screen, hands and controller lying idle in his lap. He didn't turn, didn't glance over, and didn't make eye contact with David. While his face was otherwise expressionless, the tension was visible in his tightly clenched jaw.

"Think me a monster if you will David, I hardly care. Maybe I am, maybe I'm exactly the boogeyman of their nightmares they believe that all Jumpers are. But they started this war. They hunted me down, they killed my family, twice over actually. And my girlfriend…" Griffin stopped here, making a little noise in the back of his throat, eyes still straight ahead and gaze distant, but he lines of stress on his face were far more visible now than a moment ago. "They only way to stop them is to kill them, believe me, nothing else short of that works. They won't rest, they won't stop, and they don't care who they hurt or kill to get to you. You want the people you love to stay alive, David? Then you'd better get used to the idea of this." Griffin leapt to his feet, hauling up the right sleeve of his t-shirt and straightening his arm to showcase the silver lines of the electrical burn scars. "Or how about this?" he snarled, yanking down the side of his collar to show more vicious lines around his throat. "Roland gave me that himself, in Nepal. Of course, that's nothing compared to the retaliation!" A slight pause, then Griffin let out a strangled wail, lashing out so swiftly and violently with one foot that David flinched, even though the kick was aimed in the opposite direction from him. The body of the Paladin jerked hard when the black boot connected, sliding a couple inches on the gritty floor from the force. When David raised his eyes, Griffin was still staring at the corpse, tightly leashed anger and agony making his whole frame quiver, sucking in heavy breathes through parted lips, a faint sheen of sweat on his forehead. Suspended in that moment, David wanted to put a hand on his shoulder in comfort, or brush back the lock of hair that had fallen toward Griffin's eyes, or hell, even kick the corpse himself. He did nothing however, because at that moment a slight shuffling noise behind them drew the attention of both men.

Millie stood in the middle of the room, arms tightly crossed under her breasts and shifting from foot to foot awkwardly. No one had to say a word, but it was apparent that Millie had heard and seen everything. Griffin pulled himself back into his shell then, sitting down, turning back to his game and picking up the controller, although he didn't take it off pause. Silence reigned, save for the sound of Millie's feet on the stone floor as she crossed to the couch, perching on the arm on David's side and drawing her legs up, knees close to her chest. She brushed her long brunette hair from her face, then began to pick at her nails, eyes lowered. She gave both hands a good look-over before she began speaking.

"I can't leave unless you take me." She didn't look up to specify which Jumper she was talking to, but David responded with a vaguely affirmative noise, Griffin as good as a statue for all he was moving. Millie started back on the first hand again, before giving it up and clasping them together, stretching her arms out in front so her elbows were on her knees, head turned to the side and resting on her extended arms, facing David head on. "So, what'll it be, David?" Her dark eyes were full of weight and meaning, and David knew she was asking far more from him than the simple question implied. Feeling suddenly overwhelmed David turned to look at Griffin. The Brit was still staring straight ahead at the television screen, but in the reflection he was staring right at David and they're eyes caught. Moment of truth, David thought, weighing his options carefully, before finally speaking.

"What do we do with the bodies?" Choice made, David let his eyes drift to the dead Paladin so he didn't have to see the strange relief and heartbreak in both Millie and Griffin's eyes.


End file.
